Arsène Wenger will agree a new contract with Arsenal in the near future and is set to be significantly backed in the summer transfer window after the club announced on Monday a record £150m kit deal with Puma, which lasts until 2019.

Gazidis, speaking at the Emirates Stadium during the unveiling of a lucrative kit deal with Puma worth £30m a season for the next five years, said Wenger would remain at the helm and be supported in the transfer window as Arsenal strive to compete with the top clubs in Europe.

"We've always supported Arsène and Arsène has always been committed to this football club," Gazidis said. "Arsène will be extending with us and at the right time we will make that announcement.

"He's always been completely committed to this football club, it's the football club of his life so we're convinced at the right time we'll quietly make an announcement and he's the right person to see us forward. I'm convinced of that."

Puma have required the rights to produce Arsenal-branded merchandise, as well as the club's training and first-team kits, in a deal that ends the club's 20-year affiliation with Nike, whose current contract expires at the end of the season.

Though direct comparisons can be difficult due to the fine print of deals, Arsenal's Puma deal eclipses Liverpool's £25m-a-year contract with Warrior. Real Madrid's contract with the German brand Adidas is worth £31m a year while Barcelona's deal with Nike earns them £27m per annum.

On the kit deal, Gazidis added: "The money from this deal will be available to the club from this summer. This represents another important step forward in Arsenal's progression on and off the pitch.

"It's a validation of the things we're doing right. Our club has walked an independent path of standing on our own two feet and thinking long term about our progression. It's to be able to invest in our squad and it's a very important step for our progression on the pitch.

"We have a vision to be competing at the top of the world's game. We're not where we want to be yet but we want to be competing with the best clubs in the world. We're doing it our way, without relying on any single individual."

Arsenal, who hold a one-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, play Southampton at St Mary's on Tuesday evening but are set to be without Jack Wilshere who is carrying an ankle injury.

In recent seasons February has proved a tough month for the north London club, when chances of silverware have been dashed by exits in various cup competitions, and the next few weeks provide a number of serious challenges for Wenger's side.

Next month Arsenal play Liverpool in the league and FA Cup, Manchester United in the league and Bayern Munich in the last 16 of the Champions League. Wenger is confident that his side can withstand the tough spell without wilting as they have done in the past, although he questioned the role of TV companies when contributing to the buildup of games in quick succession.

He said: "In one week you can go out of everything. We went to Barça [in 2011] and went out on away goals, three days later we lost to Man United in the FA Cup because we had the disappointment of Barça. That's part of it.

"In the other leagues they do help teams. I've already suggested in Uefa meetings to make sure that in Champions League competitions that the teams have the same amount of rest. In some championships, for example in Portugal, they cancel the [domestic] games. The game before the Champions League, they cancel the game.

"It is the television today who decides, I cannot even blame the Premier League because it's the television who has the last word. If they say we want Arsenal v Liverpool on Sunday, it will be on Sunday. I can understand the television, but the question you can ask is the way it is sold, sometimes you [could] take £50m less and keep the command."